tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75345576976497361002015-09-09T17:01:14.472-04:00Tech ThoughtsRandom thoughts on technologyBritt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-74285654556374510572011-10-11T21:51:00.002-04:002011-10-11T21:58:17.400-04:00Book Review on StickyMinds.comI have written a book review for <i><a href="http://www.stickyminds.com/s.asp?F=S1299_BOOK_4">Certified Function Point Specialist Examination Guide</a></i> that has been published on StickyMinds.com. I have written several reviews for the site and thoroughly enjoy it. It provides me with motivation for reading at least 2 books a year. While I'm not an avid reader, I do find this a very effective method to focus my reading. I will have another review coming out sometime this year or early next year so stayed tune for that post.<div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-43149820615470223702011-08-04T00:01:00.004-04:002011-08-04T00:06:58.725-04:00SQL Server Question of the Day (Part 3 or 4)<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I have another SQL Server Central question of the day being published this week. It is scheduled to be posted on August 4, 2011. Check it out (<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Questions">Question of the Day</a>) and let me know if you get it right.</span></span>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-82160845888653275222011-07-25T21:32:00.002-04:002011-07-25T21:37:39.289-04:00SQL Server Question of the Day (Again)In an effort to keep learning about SQL Server, I have submitted another question to the SQL Server Central question of the day. It will be published on Thursday, July 28th, 2011. It's a fairly simple question so you should be able to get it correct. Check it out on Thursday at <a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Questions">Question of the Day</a>.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-68842521089896680882011-07-17T21:14:00.002-04:002011-07-25T20:22:33.746-04:00Book Review on StickyMindsI wrote a book review for StickyMinds that was published a few weeks ago. Please take a look and let me know what you think. The review can be found at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; "><a href="http://www.stickyminds.com/s.asp?F=S1263_BOOK_4">Robustness Development and Reliability Growth</a>. </span>It is on their website with a link to Amazon if you wish to purchase it. I have done several reviews for this site and enjoy the learning experience. I find this to be a good way to continue my personal development. As I am not an avid reader, this provides a mechanism for me to read and publish something at least a couple of times a year. <div><br /></div>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-17300642597417664642011-05-08T09:25:00.002-04:002011-05-08T09:46:57.107-04:00I'm BackHello all, I'm back in the blogging world. I started a new position with Paycor in July of 2010 and have been totally focused on that transition. I am now making a renewed effort to my personal growth and commitments, one of which includes monthly updates. Here are a couple of updates on what I'm doing in my new role.<br /><br />I am a Software Development Team Lead responsible for the <a href="http://www.paycor.com/products/hr-benefits/hr-performer">HR Performer</a> product line. This is a SaaS based HRIS product targeted at companies with more than 50 employees. My team has responsibility for the entire application development lifecycle, product support, and maintenance. We are working hard to improve the features provided by the product.<br /><br />Most of you know that I am a huge proponent of continuous learning. In support of that, we have started a certification study group within the team. We are preparing for the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735627401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=techthou-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399349&amp;creativeASIN=0735627401">Web Applications Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (70-515)</a> exam. We have been meeting during lunch 1 day a week. I am going to challenge the team to complete the book and exam by June, 2011. The first one to get certified will get an MCP shirt.<br /><br />That's all for now. Look for the next update no later than next month.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-5093942534626862382010-06-04T08:27:00.005-04:002010-06-08T08:01:36.278-04:00Gung Ho, Friend<span style="font-size:85%;">The team recently wrapped up its third book. This time we read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068815428X?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=techthou-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=068815428X">Gung Ho</a> even though there was some apprehension around it. I have to say it was an excellent book. It totally reinforced the ideology of our team. There are 3 main concepts in this book, and they now hang as posters within our workspace. Here is the content of each (minus the cheesy graphic I picked for each animal):<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Spirit of the Squirrel:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MEANINGFUL WORK</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Important<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Leading to shared goals</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Value-driven</span><br /></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Way of the Beaver:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN CONTROL OF ACHIEVING THE GOAL</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A playing field with clearly marked territory</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thoughts, feelings, needs, and dreams are respected, listened to, and acted upon</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Able but challenged</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gift of the Goose:<br /><br />CHEERING OTHERS ON</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Active or passive, congratulations must be TRUE</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">No score, no game, and cheer the progress</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br />e=mc2 - Enthusiasm equals mission times cash and congratulations</span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br />If you are participating in a team book club (or even if you're not), I highly recommend putting this book on your reading list. It's an easy read and relatively short. We are now trying to determine what book to read next. Any suggestions/recommendations are greatly appreciated. Gung Ho, friend.</span><br /></div></div></div>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-77720401052355362322010-04-01T07:55:00.013-04:002010-04-17T22:36:15.457-04:00Book Club Update: Lean Software DevelopmentThe team has completed it's second book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321150783?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=techthou-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0321150783">Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit</a> and continues to benefit. Over the course of roughly eight weeks, we discussed a chapter a week with each team member facilitating at least one chapter.<br /><br />After the first chapter, entitle "Eliminate Waste", we implemented a change to our weekly team status meeting. That meeting consists of 8 people and traditionally lasted one hour. During our discussion on how to eliminate waste, we decided to utilize a SharePoint Meeting Workspace to maintain a running agenda and trim the meeting to half an hour. This produced a financial savings for the business and has made the team meeting more productive. We calculated the savings as follows:<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>8 people X 1/2 hour X 50 weeks X $70/hr (allocation rate)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>for an annual savings of <b>$14,000</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">We shared this information with our business sponsors and they </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">were very impressed with our initiative. They have attended one </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">of our meetings to see if they can replicate what we have done </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">throughout their teams. I am very impressed and proud of our </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">team for continually looking for ways to improve and learn.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>Additionally, the team was so encouraged with the results from this book, that we've decided to continue. We will be reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068816692X?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=techthou-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=068816692X">Gung Ho!</a> starting this month. I will provide an update upon completion. As I stated in a previous blog, I encourage every team to incorporate a mentality of continuous learning/improvement and start a book club.</div>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-40396991999958640062010-03-15T15:40:00.007-04:002010-03-17T10:16:05.351-04:00Trip Report: TDWI Solution Summit: Master Data, Quality, and GovernanceI just returned from the <a href="http://events.tdwi.org/events/solution-summit-2010/home.aspx">TDWI Solution Summit: Master Data, Quality, and Governance</a> and have to say I came away impressed. This was a hosted event, with 100 attendees from a variety of industries. The presentations were high quality and there were no high-pressure sales pitches from the myriad of vendors that were present. The best presentations were the case studies from those in the trenches. Several IT leaders presented the solutions they had implemented in their organizations and the lessons learned along the way. One of the best presentations was on the Five Levels of MDM Maturity by <a href="http://www.evanjlevy.com/">Evan Levy</a> of Baseline Consulting. It was very informative and will help with driving an MDM solution within our organization. Overall, the agenda, the presentations, and the venue were all top notch and very professionally run. I would recommend this summit to anyone currently implementing or envisioning an MDM solution.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-91412076742018411362010-01-26T08:02:00.003-05:002010-01-27T15:16:07.817-05:00Gartner AADI Trip ReportIn December, I attended the <a href="http://www.gartner.com/us/aadi/">Gartner Application Architecture, Development &amp; Integration Summit</a> in Las Vegas. This was my first Gartner conference, and I have to say I came away impressed. The quality of the presentations was excellent and the speakers were very polished. The main focus for me during the conference was Services Oriented Architecture (SOA), Master Data Management (MDM), and Business Process Management (BPM). I have been selling the benefits of SOA for some time and hope that after attending this event we are finally ready to start implementing.<br /><br />What are we looking to gain from SOA? First, I'll paraphrase what Gartner defines as SOA. It's about how to design a system with an architectural style that is modular, distributable, discoverable, swappable, and shareable. Given that definition, we are looking to improve our agility through improved responsiveness to business changes and improved developer productivity. I'm excited about the opportunity to lead this initiative and anxious to get started. My vision is to start with a centralized team that will focus on governance, service portfolio management, development, and support. We will focus on data driven services as I believe that is where the most short-term value is and will help us move our MDM initiative along as well. The team will very quickly need to become more involved with our business leaders in order to provide long-term value providing services that actually meet business needs. Finally, once we have some core services available, BPM will become a much more viable option for our business users.<br /><br />The possibility of enterprises services working on a core set of master data that is accessible with a variety of applications and business processes is an exciting opportunity that has me driven. I'll provide an update on how we're doing in a future blog. If you have experience in this area, or suggestions on where to start, please let me know.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-10757214458709842622009-12-28T15:10:00.004-05:002009-12-28T15:40:12.526-05:00New Site for Kanban BeginnersIf you're looking for an introduction to Kanban, then you must check out <a href="http://www.kanban101.com/">Kanban101</a>. This site provides an excellent introduction to Kanban terminology and concepts. It also compares Kanban and Scrum from a high-level perspective. The site does not provide a lot of detail, but if you are new to Kanban or just want a refresher on the basics, then it's for you.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-30037146395547761922009-11-20T11:08:00.007-05:002009-11-20T14:19:53.763-05:00Staff Book Club UpdateThe team has completed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785274340?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=techthou-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0785274340">The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthou-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=0785274340" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" border="0" height="1" /> and it was tremendously beneficial. Over the course of several weeks team morale, cooperation, and productivity has dramatically improved. The book was good overall, but I believe the most important part was the team involvement. We met twice a week with each team member facilitating at least 2 chapters over the course of the book. We had great discussions and wouldn't meet without the entire team present. If you lead a team, I strongly encourage you to start a book club and participate in it with your team.<br /><br />Another one of the benefits, was the creation of a Team Mission Statement. This came up during the discussion of one of the chapters. We decided to create and publish one of our own. We solicited feedback from the team, received buy-in from our executive sponsor and came to consensus. The result's are now proudly displayed on the wall in each team members cubicle.<br /><br />Finally, the team was so encouraged with the results from our first book, that we've decided to continue. We will be reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321150783?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=techthou-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0321150783">Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techthou-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=0321150783" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" border="0" height="1" /> starting in December. This is a relatively short read, 8 chapters, that we will finish after the first of the year due to holidays and vacations.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Team Mission Statement</span><br />"Leverage team insights, strengths, and competencies to deliver on-time, high-quality, cost effective solutions that provide increased and sustainable value to our business partners while supporting [Company]'s purpose, values, and vision."Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-49815324228575415032009-10-27T21:44:00.004-04:002009-10-27T22:00:37.488-04:00BA Training In Mason<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Ellen Gottesdiener is an industry leader on Agile Requirements and will be teaching a class at MaxTrain in Mason. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">MAX will give IIBA Members and their colleagues a 10% discount off of the cost of the class ($1,295) </span></span><strong style="font-weight: bold; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">AND</span></span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> also donate 10% of the registration paid to the IIBA Cincinnati Chapter! When registering, IIBA Members should use Promo Code </span></span><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">IIBACVG20</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><b style="font-weight: bold; "><span style="font-size:14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Agile Requirements: Collaborating to Define and Confirm Needs</span></span></b></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">When</span></span></u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">: December 2-3, 2009</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Where</span></span></u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">: MAX Technical Training, 4900 Parkway Dr, Suite 160, Mason, OH 45040</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Registration</span></span></u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">: </span><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><a href="http://www.maxtrain.com/classes/classInfo.aspx?id=EBG-AR" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; text-decoration: underline; color: blue; cursor: pointer; "><span style="color:purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">http://www.maxtrain.com/classes/classInfo.aspx?id=EBG-AR</span></span></a></span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Instructor</span></span></u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">: Ellen Gottesdiener</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Overview</span></span></u><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">: In agile projects, requirements are the basis for delivering business value for customers. Requirements analysis is integral to delivering the right product at the right time, and on time. This intensive course builds skills in creating small, well-defined requirements to deliver value one iteration at a time. Through practice exercises, you’ll learn how to define and prune your product backlog items, collaborate to develop requirements, adapt your requirements practices, and clarify your business needs. You’ll gain an appreciation of both the content and the timing of requirements analysis in agile projects, and you’ll learn why it’s crucial to collaborate with the entire project community. You’ll leverage EBG’s Agile Business Analysis Roadmap to learn when, where, and how to draw on other analysis models to build your agile project. Emphasis is placed on calibrating the content, format, and timing of your requirements analysis so that you can prepare for and participate in iteration planning and daily requirements analysis as requirements are transformed into code and tests.</span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNoSpacing" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">This course is endorsed by the IIBA™</span></span></p><div><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Attendees will receive 14 CDU’s upon completion of the course.</span></span></p></div><div><p class="ecxMsoNormal" face="'Times New Roman', serif" size="12pt" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; "> </p></div><div><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12pt; "><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Questions on this course? Please contact MAX Technical Training 513.322.8888</span></span></p></div><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">--<br />Cincinnati IIBA<br /></span><a href="http://cincinnati.theiiba.org/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; text-decoration: underline; color: blue; cursor: pointer; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">cincinnati.theiiba.org</span></a></p></span></div>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-13946173991170754962009-10-12T07:37:00.003-04:002009-10-12T08:08:51.245-04:00Model Oriented ArchitectureThe International Association of Software Architects has made available the presentations from their Model Oriented Architecture E-Summit. They are available here <a href="http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/blogs">http://www.iasahome.org/web/home/blogs</a>.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-17750998165411757052009-10-07T22:08:00.003-04:002009-10-07T22:13:08.410-04:00SQL Server Question of the DayOne of the tenants I live by is continuous learning. With my technical expertise based in SQL Server, I read the Question of the Day on <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/Questions">SQL Server Central</a> to test my knowledge and hopefully learn a new nugget that I can apply to my daily job. I have decided to post a few questions myself in order to share some of my experiences with the larger SQL Server crowd. Look for my next question that will be posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009. Hopefully you will participate and get the correct answer. Good luck and keep learning!Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-30187133302965190802009-09-24T21:27:00.002-04:002009-09-24T21:37:47.644-04:00Scrum Master Role with Product BacklogI've had a couple of intense discussions the last couple of days regarding the Scrum Master's role in managing the Product Backlog. During a Sprint Planning session, it was discovered that the backlog did not contain enough work for the development team for a 2 week sprint. During the planning session with the development team, a discussion started on what role the Scrum Master should take in ensuring that the Product Backlog was always detailed enough to provide enough work to fill a sprint. My stance was that the backlog is owned by the Product Owner and the Scrum Master should not have to spend time reviewing the backlog prior to the Sprint Planning in order to ensure it was ready or could become ready during the session. The planning session is time for the team to discuss the backlog and ask questions in order to gain enough details to provide an estimate and potentially accept the work for a Sprint. If the backlog is not ready and/or the Product Owner doesn't have the information the team needs during the planning session, then the team should not proceed. Some view this as the responsibility of the Scrum Master to remove the "impediment" of an inadequate backlog prior to holding the planning session. I disagree and would appreciate your thoughts on the subject.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-85221657883726083432009-09-02T21:57:00.002-04:002009-09-02T22:08:09.588-04:00Staff Book ClubI have started a book club for myself and my staff. We are meeting through lunch twice a week and reviewing a chapter each day. We rotate the facilitation of the meeting and chapter review among the members. We chose <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785274340?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=techthou-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0785274340">The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team</a> in order to improve our teamwork as we have started utilizing Scrum for our projects. We just started this week, so I'll keep you posted as to the outcome.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-66713191922108584652009-08-11T14:29:00.002-04:002009-08-11T14:34:59.984-04:002009 CIO Series Presented by Cincinnati IIBAThe Cincinnati Chapter of the IIBA has just announced the dates for their CIO series. This promises to be a great method to hear some local CIO's speak about the value of Business Analysis.<br /><br />CIO Series: Jeff Wolverton, CIO (GAFRI)<br />Start: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 6:30 PM EST<br />Ends: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 8:00 PM EST<br />Where: UC College of Business - Carl H. Lindner Hall (Room 109)<br />2925 Campus Green Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221<br />Register for this event now at: <a href="http://www.eventsbot.com/events/eb071281014">http://www.eventsbot.com/events/eb071281014</a><br /><br />CIO Series: George Menyhert, CIO (Lerner, Sampson &amp; Rothfuss)<br />Start: Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 6:30 PM EST<br />Ends: Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 8:00 PM EST<br />Where: UC College of Business - Carl H. Lindner Hall (Room 109)<br />2925 Campus Green Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221<br />Register for this event now at: <a href="http://www.eventsbot.com/events/eb881297319">http://www.eventsbot.com/events/eb881297319</a><br /><br />CIO Series: Diane Orndorff &amp; Chris Boult (FirstGroup America)<br />Start: Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 6:30 PM EST<br />Ends: Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 8:00 PM EST<br />Where: UC College of Business - Carl H. Lindner Hall (Room 109)<br />2925 Campus Green Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221<br />Register for this event now at: <a href="http://www.eventsbot.com/events/eb041297459">http://www.eventsbot.com/events/eb041297459</a>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-70345478204357124802009-07-31T15:22:00.003-04:002009-07-31T15:24:23.063-04:00#1 Characteristic of an Agile Organization - CultureI thought this was an excellent read on Agile and definitely worth sharing. <br /><br /><a href=http://shar.es/yStS>#1 Characteristic of an Agile Organization - Culture &#038; Metrics</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-47559745205976623582009-06-30T14:30:00.003-04:002009-07-15T18:26:41.639-04:00Cincinnati SPIN July MeetingThe July presentation will be on Wednesday July 8th from 4pm to 6pm at:<br />Northmark I<br />10101 Alliance Road<br />Blue Ash, Ohio 45242<br /><br />The presentation topic is <strong>Enterprise Agility.</strong><br /><br />Scrum and XP have found a strong following in the development community. But most non-development groups inside the enterprise are far from agile, nor are they trying to move to be more agile. This session starts with a refresher on Scrum, and then uses real experiences to show how to cope and effectively work with those teams.<br /><br />For more information visit the <a href="http://www.cincinnatispin.com/">Cincinnati SPIN</a> website.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-6434691955234935002009-06-09T12:32:00.002-04:002009-06-09T12:37:01.829-04:00Certified ScrumMaster TrainingAgile University will be hosting a Certified ScrumMaster course in Dublin, OH on July 7th and 8th. If you're interested in Scrum or becoming certified, check out the <a href="http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=716698">course information and registration page.</a>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-44208431532529281012009-06-04T13:11:00.002-04:002009-06-04T13:16:50.436-04:00Cincinnati SPIN MeetingThe presentation topic is <strong>3 Tips to Improve Your Development Process</strong>.<br /><br />It does not matter if you are doing Agile or if you are working in an environment like RUP or CMMI, there are several things you can do to improve your development process. This highly interactive session will show you three specific tips: improve your estimation, use a daily standup to keep a close focus on your progress, and work in retrospectives to empower your team's ability to drastically improve your entire software development process, regardless of what that process is, even if it's no process! You will leave this session with a handle on ways to smooth out your project's environment.<br /><br />For directions or more information, check the <a href="http://www.cincinnatispin.com/">Cincinnati SPIN </a>website.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-60873932115158886382009-05-26T21:55:00.002-04:002009-05-26T21:58:26.071-04:00ORM FirestarterSaturday, June 13th<br /><br />Location: Microsoft Office, Mason, OH<br /><br />Registration: <a href="http://tr.im/cincyorm">http://tr.im/cincyorm</a><br /><br />What is an ORM (you ask)? Then this event is perfect for you!<br /><br />What is a Firestarter event (you ask)? The Firestarters are meant to serve as an entry point into a technology (or technologies). So, for this event, we assume you know nothing about ORMs. Should you come if you have been using NHibernate or Entity Framework? ABSOLUTELY!<div><br /></div><div>More information can be found at the <a href="http://cinnug.org/specialevents.aspx">Cincinnati .NET User Group</a> site.</div>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-11367972856934311452009-05-15T08:29:00.003-04:002009-05-15T08:33:08.608-04:00Forging Good Leaders in Bad Times - CIO.com - Business Technology LeadershipLeadership development doesn't stop when the going gets tough. If anything, investing in the next generation matters now more than ever.<br /><br /><a href=http://www.cio.com/article/491563/Forging_Good_Leaders_in_Bad_Times?page=1>Forging Good Leaders in Bad Times - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-58182549705142112402009-05-13T08:49:00.001-04:002009-05-13T08:51:45.876-04:00Cincinnati IIBA May 2009 EventMay 2009 Chapter Event<br />Facilitated Group Workshop: Role of the BA at your Company<br />Tuesday, May 19th<br /><br />Please join as we discuss the BA role at different companies. We will be discussing where the BA reports in the organization - IT or the business? What tools and training are provided to BAs? Do companies support a BA Competency Center?<br />For the format of this meeting will be a facilitated group discussion.<br /><br />Date and Time:<br />Tuesday May 19th, 2009<br />6:15 – 6:30 pm Networking<br />6:30 – 7:30 pm Group Discussion<br /><br />Location:<br />Great American Insurance Group, 580 Building<br />580 Walnut Street<br />Cincinnati, Ohio 45202<br />14th Floor Town Hall Conference Room<br /><br />Directions &amp; Parking:<br />Convenient parking can be found at the 580 Building Garage, off Main St or Walnut St. or the Fountain Square Garage, off Walnut St or Vine St.<br />The 580 building is located across from the Arnoff Center on 6th Street; across from Fountain Square on Walnut St. The conference room is on the 14th Floor in the Town Hall Conference Room, located across from the elevators.<br /><br /><a href="http://cincinnati.theiiba.org/">Cincinnati IIBA</a>Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534557697649736100.post-43631052524972340912009-05-11T07:48:00.002-04:002009-05-11T08:18:10.087-04:00Architecture and GovernanceThe latest edition of <a href="http://architectureandgovernance.com/files/AG5-4.pdf">Architecture and Governance Magazine</a> is available. Visit the website to sign up for a free subscription. This magazine generally has excellent articles on IT Architecture and governance related to that architecture.Britt Cluffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02574524022093400436noreply@blogger.com0